Hi:

This is just a quick update to address all the CCI who believe it is essential to have comprehensive and descriptive comments.

What do they really do, and who are they for? I spent a little time scanning a few hundred, and they are all basically useless. Additionally, a comment could be in an indecipherable language and totally unrelated to what was actually changed.

I have over 12 thousand edits maybe averaging 300 members. With maybe 10 members per documentable change, at 2 minutes to document each change, that is 12 000300/102/60 equals 12 000 hours. Anyone possessing even a minimal IQ can appreciate that the task is insurmountable for any productive mapper.

If obstruction and obfuscation is the goal, commenting is part of that solution.

thanks, Baden

Hi Andy and DWG:

I did not take composing this response lightly. I have always mapped assuming good faith and intelligence with co-mappers, both which have seemingly diminished.

If I got a message about a changeset, I first checked the author’s edit count (i.e. experience), and whether they were locally mapping. You can visit my message list to see that I went well out of my way to address legitimate queries.

recent examples: changeset/105906567 changeset/116631815

If the author has minimal edits and no local presence, I will not encourage trolls. I especially detest, as probably many others also do, bird-doggers who have zero interest in the local mapping, and whose total focus is on policing, often using external tools. I do not know of any individuals who enjoy being watched over their shoulders.

A perfect example of this is: changeset/118228668

The author had unbelievably zero edits and brazenly stated, “I’m sure that you’ve been asked several times”, when in actuality, I never had been.

Another mapper joined the recent fray from nowhere. It looks like his modus operandi is already recognised: https://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?pid=824528

And another with zero edits: changeset/116970678

Andy, as for the “asked more than once previously”, whom are you referring to? I only saw that one message a few months ago. You insinuated that there was a huge hue and cry. A bunch of BS on some external blog does not cut it.

As for the comments, the two machines I predominately use for OSM do not have keyboards, so even writing a few words is a chore. Additionally, it impossible to edit those comments, even when they are misplaced and incorrect. Thus, I cannot imagine those comments having any real value except for the pseudo policia.

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